Fraxinus americana, the white ash or American ash, is a species of ash tree native to eastern and central North America. It is found in mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, southwest to eastern Texas. Isolated populations have been found in western Texas and Colorado, the species is naturalized in Hawaii. There are an estimated 8 billion ash trees – the majority being the white ash trees and the green ash trees; the name white ash derives from the glaucous undersides of the leaves. It is similar in appearance to the green ash; the lower sides of the leaves of white ash are lighter in color than their upper sides, the outer surface of the twigs of white ash may be flaky or peeling. Green ash leaves are similar in color on upper and lower sides, twigs are smoother. White Ash leaves turn red in Autumn. Despite some overlap, the two species tend to grow in different locations as well, its compound leaves more than not have 7 leaflets per leaf whereas other ash trees are more diverse.

White ash is one of the most used trees for everyday purposes and, to keep up with high demand, is cultivated everywhere it can be. The wood is white and quite dense and straight-grained, its species produces an Apical dominant Excurrent structured crown. And traditional timber of choice for production of baseball bats and tool handles; the wood is favorable for furniture and flooring. Woodworkers use the timber for interior uses due to high perishability in contact with ground soil, it is used to make lobster traps. Since the 1950s, it has become a popular choice for solid electric guitar bodies, it makes a serviceable longbow if properly worked. The wood was used in ceiling fan blades from the 1970s through the mid-1980s, though cane was sometimes simulated with plastic then, it is no longer used for ceiling fan blades in most countries. White ash is not seen in cultivation as as green ash due to its preference for undisturbed forest sites away from urban pollution and soil compaction, but sometimes has been planted for its reliably autumn colors, which are bright orange and red hues as opposed to other species of ash that produce a uniform yellow color.

Cultivation of White Ash differs across North American continent. For example, within City of Chicago region. 2010 Statistics show most common street tree species is White Ash at 6.2%. Along with third ranked Green type at 4.9%, Ashes combine to make up 11% percent of cities street trees. Along with overall population of 13,648,044 Million standing Ashes within Cook county alone. Autumn Purple, or Junginger. A wild Variety of American White Ash selected for its Purple leaf color. Had been discovered by University of Wisconsin Horticulturist Karl Junginger of McKay nursery, Iowa, and after its introduction in 1956, it became the Most popular and most expensive landscape selection. Surpassing the high priced Ginkgo, London Plane & White/Burr Oak. A related species, Biltmore ash, is sometimes treated as a variety of white ash. However, other taxonomists argue. North American native ash tree species are used by North American frogs as a critical food source, as the leaves that fall from the trees are suitable for tadpoles to feed upon in ponds, large puddles, other water sources.

Species such as red maple, which are taking the place of ash, due to the ash borer, are much less suitable for the frogs as a food source — resulting in poor frog survival rates and small frog sizes. It is the lack of tannins in the American ash variety that makes them good for the frogs as a food source and not resistant to the ash borer. Varieties of ash from outside North America have much higher tannin levels and resist the borer. Maples and various non-native invasive trees, trees that are taking the place of American ash species in the North American ecosystem have much higher leaf tannin levels. Ash species native to North America provide important habit and food for various other creatures that are native to North America; the emerald ash borer commonly known by the acronym EAB, is a green beetle native to Asia. In North America the emerald ash borer is an invasive species destructive to ash trees in its introduced range; the damage of this insect rivals that of Dutch elm disease. To put its damage in perspective, the number of chestnuts killed by the chestnut blight was around 3.5 billion chestnut trees while there are 3.5 billion ash trees in Ohio alone.

Dutch elm disease killed only 200 million elm trees while EAB threatens 7.5 billion ash trees in the United States. The insect threatens the entire North American genus Fraxinus. Since its accidental introduction into the United States and Canada in the 1990s, its subsequent detection in 2002, it has spread to eleven states and adjacent parts of Canada, it has killed at least 50 million ash trees so far and threatens to kill most of the ash trees throughout North America. White ash exhibits a little more resistance to emerald ash borer than green ash, which has nearly no resistance, however this could possibly be due to white ash not being used in landscaping as extensively and placed in high-stress environments. An infested tree can be recognized by premature fall color and leaf senescence observed on affected branches between August and last week of September. Before emerald ash borer was officially

The 1943 German football championship, the 36th edition of the competition, was won by Dresdner SC, the club's first-ever championship, won by defeating FV Saarbrücken in the final. The twenty-nine 1942–43 Gauliga champions, four more than in the previous season, competed in a single-leg knock out competition to determine the national champion. In the following season, the last completed one during the war, the German championship was played with thirty one clubs, expanded through a combination of territorial expansion of Nazi Germany and the sub-dividing of the Gauligas in years; the 1943 championship marked the end of the golden era of Schalke 04 which had reached the semi-finals of each edition of the national championship from 1932 to 1942 and won the competition in 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940 and 1942 while losing the final in 1933, 1938 and 1941. In 1943 defending champions Schalke was knocked out in the quarter finals by Holstein Kiel, thereby ending the clubs quest for a twelfth consecutive semi-finals appearance.

Ernst Kalwitzki of FC Schalke 04 and Herbert Binkert of 1. FC Saarbrücken were the joint top scorers for the 1943 championship with five goals each, the lowest for any top scorer since 1925. For Kalwitzki it was the last time, after 1937 and 1939, to finish as top scorer. Dresdner SC became the last club to be awarded the Viktoria, the annual trophy for the German champions from 1903 to 1944; the trophy disappeared during the final stages of the war, did not resurface until after the German reunification and was put on display at the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt until 2015, when it was moved to the new Deutsches Fußballmuseum in Dortmund. Dresdner SC completed the 1942–43 season unbeaten, finishing the Gauliga Sachsen with -8 wins out of 18 games and than to win all five games in the championship as well; the teams qualified through the 1942–43 Gauliga season: Gauliga champions LSV Adler Deblin were replaced by SG Warschau. Stuttgarter Kickers and VfB Stuttgart finished on equal points and the same goal average and were therefore declared joint champions but only VfB advanced to the German championship.

Holstein Kiel, SpVgg Wilhelmshaven, Kickers Offenbach and Westende Hamborn received a bye for the first round. VfB Königsberg was replaced by SV Neufahrwasser in the quarter finals. Kicker Allmanach 1990, by kicker, page 164 & 177 - German championship German Championship 1942–43 at weltfussball.de German Championship 1943 at RSSSF

The Alexandrine parakeet known as the Alexandrine parrot, is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula of the family Psittacidae. It is named after Alexander the Great, who transported numerous birds from Punjab to various European and Mediterranean countries and regions, where they were prized by the royalty and warlords; the Alexandrine parakeet has established feral populations in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong where it lives alongside feral populations of its close relative, the rose-ringed parakeet. The Alexandrine parakeet was first described by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson as Psittaca Ginginiana or "La Perruche de Gingi" in 1760; the birds may, however have been held in captivity there. Carl Linnaeus redescribed the Alexandrine parakeet in 1766 as Psittacus eupatria; the genus name Psittacula is a diminutive of the Latin word psittacus meaning "parrot", the specific name eupatria is derived from the Ancient Greek words eu- meaning "well" and patriá meaning "descent".

Genetic analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences of Psittacula parakeets has shown that the Alexandrine parakeet diverged from the lineage that gave rise to the rose-ringed parakeet and the Mauritius parakeet about 5 million years ago. The Alexandrine parakeet is one of the largest parakeets, measuring 56 to 62 cm from the top of the head to the tip of the tail and weighing 200 to 300 g; the tail measures 28 to 35 cm. It is predominantly green with a light blue-grey sheen on the cheeks and nape, yellow-green abdomen, red patch on the shoulders and massive red beak with yellow tips; the upperside of the tail passes from green at the top to blue further down, is yellow at the tip. The underside of the tail is yellow. Adults are sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a pink band on their nape. Adult females lack both a pink band on their nape; the young have shorter tails. Five subspecies of the Alexandrine parakeet are recognized. Information on the distribution and plumage differences of the different subspecies is given below.

The Alexandrine parakeet lives in forests, agricultural lands and mangrove forests at elevations of up to 900 m. It eats a variety of wild and cultivated seeds, buds and nuts. Flocks can cause extensive damage to ripening fruits and grain crops like jowar, it lives in small flocks, but forms larger groups in areas where food is abundant or at communal roosts. The Alexandrine parakeet has a variety of calls, including a ringing trrrieuw, loud kree-aar or keeak, deep klak-klak-klak-klak and resonant gr-aak, its calls are deeper and more resonant than those of the rose-ringed parakeet. Its voice becomes harsher when alarmed, it shrieks loudly when mobbing predators. Flocks excitedly vocalize together, it is known to imitate human speech in captivity. Alexandrine parakeets breed from November to April in their native range, they nest in tree hollows, but sometimes use tree holes excavated by themselves or cracks in buildings. Females lay 2 to 4 blunt oval-shaped eggs, measuring 27 to 34 mm; the average incubation period is 24 days.

The chicks fledge at about 7 weeks of age, are dependent on their parents until 3 to 4 months of age. Alexandrine parakeets are popular pet birds due to their long lifespan in captivity, playful behaviour and ability to mimic human speech. Alexander the Great is thought to have kept one as a pet, they are one of the most sought-after cage birds in the Indian market. According to CITES trade data, at least 57,772 Alexandrine parakeets were imported into countries outside their native range between 1981 and 2014; the Alexandrine parakeet is listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because of its steep population decline in its native range due to habitat loss and excessive capture to cater to the demands of the illegal wildlife trade. It is sporadic in South India, uncommon in Bangladesh, declining in North Bengal and certain parts of Sri Lanka, it has suffered the greatest population declines in the Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan, Laos and southwestern Cambodia, Thailand.

The sale of Alexandrine parakeets is banned in Pakistan, but they can be found being sold in the markets of Lahore and Rawalpindi. Their sale is banned in India, yet they are sold in broad daylight in urban bird markets, suggesting that the Indian government is allocating insufficient resources for their protection. Thailand and Iran have issued postage stamps depicting the Alexandrine parakeet. Alexandrine Parakeet | Parrot Encyclopedia by the World Parrot Trust Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp, ISBN 1408127636 Wildscreen Arkive: Alexandrine parakeet Gallery and fact sheet Oriental Bird Images: Alexandrine parakeet Selected images

Mahbas is a Lebanese romantic, comedy movie directed by Sophie Boutros and produced by Nadia Eliewat. The film premiered in the Dubai International Film Festival in 2016 and released in Lebanon, Jordan, UAE, Palestine in 2017; the film revolves around the story of a Lebanese mother who has developed a deep hatred towards Syrians as she lost her brother to a tragic incident during the Lebanese-Syrian war. The memory of her brother's death still fresh, keeps her hatred ongoing to the point that when she finds out that her daughter's suitor and his family are Syrians, she is determined to stop the engagement; the film has a message of tolerance and forgiveness explicit in the two families comedic roller coaster ups and downs that unravels the hatred in the end. Although the film targets the Lebanese and the Syrians, its message is applicable to other Arab neighbors and in general too; the movie starts with Theresa, a Lebanese woman, tasting pickles, spitting it out once she finds out it's made by a Syrian refugee.

Theresa reaches home and starts preparing for her daughter, Ghada's, engagement that day, is seen talking with her dead brother's photo which she imagines as talking back to her. Her brother died due to a Syrian bomb attack during the Lebanese- Syrian war. Theresa's neighbor Solange talks with Marwan, Ghada's ex, who has no clue its Ghada's engagement and has bought a ring to propose to Ghada when she gets back from Dubai. Maurice, Theresa's husband, the Mayor of the town, is seen with another woman who he promises to go on a trip with, but she is mad at him for always making excuses. Meanwhile, Ghada's suitor and his parents are on their way to Ghada's house and are talking about border problems as they are Syrians. Ghada comes back from Dubai and is picked up by her father, who avoids telling Ghada that he did not mention Samer's Syrian background to Theresa. Theresa only gets to know that Samer is Syrian from his Syrian dialect, she is shocked to the core. While Samer and his parents awkwardly wait in the living room unknown of Theresa's racism towards Syrians and Ghada try convincing Theresa.

Theresa thinks of a plan to destroy the engagement by secretly calling Marwan over to the house. A quick conversation between the two families, the families head outside to roam around. Theresa visits Marwan's Tango classes and takes a framed picture of Ghada and Marwan together in a dancing competition to show the family on. Once home, Samer asks to help Theresa in the kitchen and when noticing Ghada's uncle's photo he expresses condolence and is sad that he died from a disease. Theresa, pretending to be okay with what Samer said and with the engagement, gives him her brother's old watch as a present; the lunch part is one of the exciting scenes of the movie as the two families sit down and converse with each other. Riad, Samer's father, eagerly keeps the conversation going by first asking Theresa of her brother's trips to Syria. Finding out that Theresa and her brother used to enjoy a famous Syrian singer's song together, Riad starts singing the same song to which everyone joins and Theresa smiles as Riad reminds her of her brother.

Enters Marwan who brings a chair to the dining table and sits right next to Ghada, with Samer staring intensely across the table. Ghada and Marwan converse about their childhood memories to which Samer gets annoyed as he never heard Ghada mention her childhood memories with Marwan. Samer and Marwan exchange snappy comments at each other with Theresa adding fuel to the fire by mentioning Ghada and Marwan performing couple dance for a dance competition, she gets up to get the photo of them together. At this time, Maurice's assistant, who Maurice is having an affair with, comes to the house and abruptly mentions that Maurice and she will be traveling together to Turkey, which Maurice replies as ‘for a conference.’ This, of course, catches the attention of Nazek, Samer's mother. Riad insists on seeing Ghada and Marwan's dance and they end up doing so, while Samer gets jealous and gets up and takes Ghada from Marwan's hands and starts dancing with her. Due to Marwan's snappy comment, Samer punches him and it goes downhill.

Marwan shows Samer the email Ghada sent 3 months ago to Marwan in which she mentions, along the lines, that ‘she feels lonely, misses him, wants to be with him.’ Ghada accepts her mistake and mentions to Marwan that she felt lonely because that night Samer was upset with her. She felt that he is never proud of her and that she feels like she should change herself to be with him. After an emotional conversation and Samer make up to which Theresa starts thinking of another way to break the engagement. Theresa decides to place it in Samer's mother's bag. Upon finding the ring in Nazek's bag and Samer end up in a fight in which the truth of Theresa hating Syrians and Maurice's affair is out with the engagement broken. Theresa confronts Maurice about his affair and during this confrontation, Theresa realizes her mistake of breaking Ghada's engagement and goes to apologize to her. After Ghada's and Theresa's mother-daughter bonding, Theresa accepts Samer and encourages Ghada to meet with Samer to sort things out.

Samer and Ghada get back together, while Theresa gives her wedding ring back to Maurice that signifies separation. The story ends with Samer and Ghada's wedding and both families happy. Julia Kassar as Therese Ali El Khalil as Maurice Bassam Koussa as Riad Nadine Khoury as Nazek Betty Taoutel as neighbour Solange Jaber Jokhadar as Samer Serena Chami as Ghada Said Serhan as Marwan Daniel Balaban as Imad Samir

Foresthill is a census-designated place in Placer County, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area; the population was 1,483 at the 2010 census, down from 1,791 at the 2000 census. Foresthill is located on a broad ridge between the North and Middle Forks of the American River on the gold-bearing gravel bed of an ancient river. In the spring of 1850, miners came to the Forest Hill Divide in large numbers. There was one route from Auburn through one from Coloma. At the junction of these trails, the Forest House hotel and trading post was built; the height of mining activity in Foresthill began in 1853 after a winter landslide at the head of Jenny Lind Canyon exposed numerous nuggets of gold. The Jenny Lind mine produced about $2,500 of gold a day for a while, up to a total output over $1 million by 1880; the combined production of all the mines in the Forest Hill area was estimated at $10 million by 1868 with gold selling for $16 an ounce. In the 1860s, there were about 125,000 feet of hard-rock tunnels dug into the hillsides in, around and under Foresthill.

By 1857, this area had become an important center for trade among the many gold camps on the divide. In 1862, the Hardy-Kennedy building was erected - the first fireproof store in Foresthill; this building, now known as the Langstaff building, is still being used by the merchants of Foresthill. By 1880, Foresthill was one of the largest towns in Placer County; the town had an 80-foot wide main street befitting such an important place. Today the town has a marker identifying it as a California Historical Landmark. According to the United States Census Bureau Foresthill has a total area of 11.2 square miles, all of it land. Foresthill has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Foresthill Bridge The 2010 United States Census reported that Foresthill had a population of 1,483; the population density was 132.6 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Foresthill was 1,371 White, 8 African American, 29 Native American, 6 Asian, 2 Pacific Islander, 17 from other races, 50 from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino of any race were 97 persons. The Census reported that 1,483 people lived in households, 0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, 0 were institutionalized. There were 625 households, out of which 182 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 314 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 66 had a female householder with no husband present, 45 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 49 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, 9 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 140 households were made up of individuals and 53 had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37. There were 425 families; the population was spread out with 301 people under the age of 18, 118 people aged 18 to 24, 304 people aged 25 to 44, 540 people aged 45 to 64, 220 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

There were 681 housing units at an average density of 60.9 per square mile, of which 407 were owner-occupied, 218 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%. 965 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 518 people lived in rental housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,791 people, 673 households, 465 families residing in the CDP; the population density was 159.9 people per square mile. There were 717 housing units at an average density of 64.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.34% White, 0.61% Black or African American, 2.68% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.45% Pacific Islander, 1.95% from other races, 3.91% from two or more races. 5.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 673 households out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.8% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older.

The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.14. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $34,348, the median income for a family was $41,161. Males had a median income of $41,438 versus $25,813 for females; the per capita income for the CDP was $19,409. About 9.9% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over. Foresthill Divide Museum

The Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about 200 miles north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberian coast is 500 miles northwest. About 77 square miles in total area, they are rocky and are covered with tundra, with a population of 572 as of the 2010 census; the principal islands are Saint George. The former was named for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, on the day of which the island was discovered; the Otter and Walrus islets are near St. Paul; the total land area of all the islands is 75.072 sq mi. The islands are part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. While oral traditions of the Aleut people maintain the islands were sparingly visited, "no ethnohistoric or archaeological evidence points to the use or occupation of the Pribilof Islands... by any native people before the Russian period in Alaska." The seasonal migrations of the Northern fur seal became known by the Russians in the 1780s.

Swimming north through the Aleutian Islands, the seals returned in the autumn with newly born pups. The unknown northern breeding grounds became a focus of Russian trappers. An employee of the Lebedev-Lastochkin Company, Gavriil Pribylov, sailed in 1786 to discover the location, after disobeying orders to retrieve company property in the Kurile Islands; the rookeries Pribylov visited held upwards of four million seals. The islands became site to the LLC's first artel in what became Russian America. With the creation of the Russian-American Company, a monopoly, Russian operations continued on the islands. Under the Alaska Purchase sovereignty was passed to the United States in 1867. From 1870 to 1890, the U. S. government leased them to the Alaska Commercial Company. From 1890 through 1910, the North American Commercial Company held the monopoly on seal-hunting there, but the industry shrank owing to seal-hunting on the open sea; the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 was signed by the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States to restrict hunting in the area.

Under the Fur Seal Act of 1966, hunting of the seals was forbidden in the Pribilofs, with the exception of subsistence hunting by native Aleuts. Ambrose Bierce suggested renaming the islands'locus sigilli' in his The Devil's Dictionary. A post office was established for the Pribilofs in 1948 at St. Paul, with Mrs. Ruth Anderson as postmistress. Naturalist and paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews visited the islands in 1913 aboard the schooner Adventuress on her maiden voyage with John Borden and crew, his films of fur seals led to efforts to protect the animals. The buildings on St. George and St. Paul Islands related to the hunting of the northern fur seal make up the national historic district. Residents are concentrated in the towns of St. Paul and St. George, each on the island of the same name. Many of the residents of the islands are related. St. Paul and St. George each have small airports. Air service is provided from the Alaskan mainland. St. Paul has a population of 479, with its economy dependent on the annual taking of the snow crab and on subsistence and commercial halibut harvests.

Support services to commercial fleets plying the waters of the Bering Sea contribute to the economy. The balance of economic activity on the island relates to working for the United States Government; the U. S. Coast Guard maintains a base on St. Paul, but no longer maintains a LORAN-C master station, as LORAN technology has been replaced by GPS navigation; the National Weather Service has a station on the island, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains a presence. St. George has a population of 102, its economy is similar to that of St. Paul; the Pribilof Islands are a birdwatching attraction, home to many species that do not fly in North America beyond Alaska. More than 240 species have been identified, an estimated two million seabirds nest there annually. St. Paul is popular, having a high cliff wall, known as Ridge Wall, above the Bering Sea. Harrison Gray Otis, chief government agent in 1879 The AMIQ Institute – a research project documenting the Pribilof Islands and their inhabitants FURSEAL.

HTML – summary of the Fur Seal Act at U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service web site. Retrieved on April 16, 2008. 16 U. S. C. CHAPTER 24—CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF NORTH PACIFIC FUR SEALS – text of the U. S. Code on the U. S. Government Printing Office web site. Retrieved on April 16, 2008. Alaska Fisheries Science Center Historical Corner: The Pribilof Islands Retrieved on July 23, 2014